Pallet Truck Shop has commended the efficiency of British workers in light of recent news that the UK factories export £184bn of goods every year, making British factories the eighth most productive in the world.
This is an increase on last year’s total and sees the UK overtake France in the manufacturing rankings, with the French producing £179bn of goods. The North West had the biggest part to play in the British productivity boom, with the regional powerhouse producing over £24bn of goods per year.
Other areas of the UK powering the UK’s manufacturing engine included the West Midlands, which produced £17.5bn of goods, and the East Midlands, which produced £15.9bn of goods. The productivity of both regions was driven by their strength in the automotive and aerospace sectors.
Phil Chesworth, Pallet Truck Shop Managing Director, said: “The fact that Britain has climbed ever higher in the manufacturing rankings is fantastic news, and a testament to the efficiency of our manufacturing sector and all of those who work in it.
“It’s especially welcome to note that the weak pound has been a cause of our increased productivity – hopefully our manufacturing industry will continue to get the vital support it needs to carry on flourishing as the Brexit negotiations continue.”
Britain currently employs 2.6 million people across the country in manufacturing positions, with the largest sector of British manufacturing being food and drink, which accounts for 16% of British exports. This is closely followed by both the transport sector (14%) and the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sector (14%).
Wages for employees in the manufacturing sector have increased too thanks to the increase of highly skilled, highly paid jobs. Average earnings for manufacturing workers have grown from £31,489 to £32,047, which is £3,748 more than the whole economy average pay.
Phil added: “We supply a huge amount of manual handling equipment for workers in both the food and drink and transport sectors and know first-hand how hard employees in these industries work. It’s great to see that manufacturing workers are now being rewarded for the effort they put in in the form of increased wages.”
Much of the equipment supplied by Pallet Truck Shop is used in the day-to-day workings of the manufacturing sector jobs, with equipment such as pallet trucks and electric lift tables being vital in ensuring that factories and warehouses continue running smoothly and meet their quotas.
Pallet Truck Shop has recently added new ranges of moving skates to its already massive collection of manual handling equipment including pallet trucks, stackers, table trucks, sack trucks, forklift extensions, aerial work platforms and more.